His play this year, however, has shown that Kobe still seems to have a lot left in the tank and would likely still be able to contribute to a team during that time. This has led to questions as to whether Kobe will play after 2016 and he said on Time Warner Cable SportsNet that if he wants to play, he will, according to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:

Kobe on playing beyond his current contract (1/2): "If I wanna play I'll play. I tend to make my own decisions."

A lot of things can change by the time Kobe has to make the decision and it’s difficult to predict what will happen when that time does come. No one knows how Kobe’s body will respond this time next year, and that could have a major impact on his decision when that time comes.

For the time being, 2016 still looks to be the year that Kobe will hang it up. Regardless of whether he does or doesn’t, the Lakers will need to have his successor in place by that time.

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Lakers Post-Game: Kobe And Jeremy Lin Have Differing Opinion On Playing Mad